Abstract:

Simulations created by using dynamic geometry software have been demonstrated to be a useful tool for Physics teaching. Physics teachers at the Technical University of Madrid used simulations in face to face classes to explain problems concerning statics and dynamics of fluids. After that, they uploaded other simulations to help students to solve the proposed activities in the Moodle platform. Simulations were comprised of deposit, pipe and gates systems, on which some settings could be changed, for instance the fluid density, the level of fluid in a tank or the pipe dimensions, among others. Students calculated the pressure or velocity of fluid at different points and other specific parameters as the center of pressures. Students were asked to answer voluntarily a short survey about the use of interactive simulations uploaded to Moodle's Geogebra module, for their self-learning. The assessment of each simulation performed in GeoGebra scored always over 8 points out of 10. Nearly 100% of the students indicated that they wanted to continue using simulations until the end of the subject. However, around 30% of students do not want to replace a traditional live practice with an online one with GeoGebra, which leads us to think that simulations can serve as a strong and complementary tool but not as a substitute for any traditional element.

Keywords:

Interactive simulations, Teaching Methods, Higher Education, Physics.